Kaplan lecture notes good?

[michelleDO]

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anyone have any thoughts/opinions about HY+BRS+Lange+Qbank+FA compared to Kaplan lecture notes + FA? are the lecture notes information too detailed for the boards?

 

[Twitch]

anyone have any thoughts/opinions about HY+BRS+Lange+Qbank+FA compared to Kaplan lecture notes + FA? are the lecture notes information too detailed for the boards?

Kaplan can be a little dense as compared to HY/BRS. Depends how much time you're willing to put into this. If you're taking classes and use kaplan alongwith it - may not be a bad idea. Though in some subjects Kaplan shines, others - not as much. For instance, I'd stick to BRS/Goljan for Path.

EDIT: you want to do qbank regardless of what study guides / review books you pick.

Also on the back of FA there is a review of the various study guides.

 

[TheMightyAngus]

Kaplan can be a little dense as compared to HY/BRS. Depends how much time you're willing to put into this. If you're taking classes and use kaplan alongwith it - may not be a bad idea. Though in some subjects Kaplan shines, others - not as much. For instance, I'd stick to BRS/Goljan for Path.

EDIT: you want to do qbank regardless of what study guides / review books you pick.

Also on the back of FA there is a review of the various study guides.

MS0? Are you giving Step 1 advice without even having started med school?

 

[kito]

 

[domer621]

MS0? Are you giving Step 1 advice without even having started med school?

Gotta love SDN. 👍

 

[beastmaster]

If you think that's bad, go check out all the MS1-2s dishing out residency advice.

 

[Twitch]

MS0? Are you giving Step 1 advice without even having started med school?

What can I say I'm so sick of work and traveling every week for it - this is a good distraction after mindless hours of playing video games.

In case anyone is thinking of springing for MMRS, there is a new edition coming out (4th) next Feb. I really hope they add color illustrations, though that's probably not going to happen. Also the 2007 FA should be coming out this month.

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

my little brother in high school can diagnose medical illnesses like the dudes on House.

 

[Uberman]

You gotta be joking...there's absolutely no reason why a pre-med should be giving advice on step I. Don't post unless you can back it up...SDN is a quality forum and people like you taint it with ignorance. Ignorance may be bliss for you but not for those who come to SDN for solid info and instead get misguided by some kid who has nothing better to do than spout nonsense.

Kaplan can be a little dense as compared to HY/BRS. Depends how much time you're willing to put into this. If you're taking classes and use kaplan alongwith it - may not be a bad idea. Though in some subjects Kaplan shines, others - not as much. For instance, I'd stick to BRS/Goljan for Path.

EDIT: you want to do qbank regardless of what study guides / review books you pick.

Also on the back of FA there is a review of the various study guides.

 

[domer621]

What can I say I'm so sick of work and traveling every week for it - this is a good distraction after mindless hours of playing video games.

Go out and find some friends. Go play outside or go to the gym. There are 9403848932 other things better for you to be doing than worrying about the USMLE before you're even in medical school.

And you shouldn't have removed your MS0 status from your signature.

 

[Twitch]

Isn't it suprising that everyone is quick to doubt my credibility based on my sig yet no one else has answered the OP's question.

BTW - the sig only goes on the first post of the page. That's why you don't see it on subsequent posts on this page.

Also the taint comment hurts and was uncalled for. 🙁

Perhaps it'd benefit the OP if someone would respond to my suggestion for OP or perhaps add to it (or correct me if they think otherwise).

 

[DragonWell]

Isn't it suprising that everyone is quick to doubt my credibility based on my sig yet no one else has answered the OP's question.

BTW - the sig only goes on the first post of the page. That's why you don't see it on subsequent posts on this page.

Also the taint comment hurts and was uncalled for. 🙁

Perhaps it'd benefit the OP if someone would respond to my suggestion for OP or perhaps add to it (or correct me if they think otherwise).

I pity your future classmates. 😛

 

[domer621]

I pity your future classmates. 😛

 

[SkylineMD]

Isn't it suprising that everyone is quick to doubt my credibility based on my sig yet no one else has answered the OP's question.

BTW - the sig only goes on the first post of the page. That's why you don't see it on subsequent posts on this page.

Also the taint comment hurts and was uncalled for. 🙁

Perhaps it'd benefit the OP if someone would respond to my suggestion for OP or perhaps add to it (or correct me if they think otherwise).

well i think the problem is that most people aren't offering advice if they haven't taken step 1 yet. To tell someone that one resource is better than another without any first hand experience or experience in medical school itself is going to be criticized.

Now I personally had the same question but then reading your advice makes it seem that if a person hasn't started using the kaplan material with their classes, they might as well not bother. It doesn't explain why 75-80% of the students in my school take kaplan and do well. Unfortunately there are no studies comparing the effectiveness of Kaplan preparation with self-study so we rely in personal experience.... not speculation

 

[OnMyWayThere]

Unfortunately there are no studies comparing the effectiveness of Kaplan preparation with self-study so we rely in personal experience.... not speculation

There was a paper I just read a couple of days ago who studied over 900 students who took a prep-course vs. those who did not and the results were very insignificant. Something like an average of 2 more questions correct for the students who invested in a course....I have it on my hard drive if you'd like to read more about it.

 

[Terpskins99]

There was a paper I just read a couple of days ago who studied over 900 students who took a prep-course vs. those who did not and the results were very insignificant. Something like an average of 2 more questions correct for the students who invested in a course....I have it on my hard drive if you'd like to read more about it.

I think its difficult to compare. Over at our school, the majority of students "going solo" are pretty strong relative to the rest of the class.

The way I figure it... eh... it can't hurt.

We're already in hock for a couple hundred grand. Whats another $1,000? 🙄

 

[DrDarwin]

I have the Kaplan lecture notes and find them pretty useful (as an MS-II using them with classes). If anything, they seem over the top sometimes. I cannot say which subjects are stronger and which are weaker, but it seems unlikely that a company that exists to prepare students for tests would not have a pretty good idea of what to expect on those tests. In other words, I doubt that the book contain an exceptionally large percentage of extraneous information.

Also, Qbank is supposed to be a pretty good reflection of actual test scores (especially as you achieve higher and higher percentile ranks), and I'd be surprised if the lecture notes don't cover--at least in some tangential way--every question on Qbank.

I think the best thing is to determine how you learn best. Some people may learn better with Kaplan while others may retain more with HY and BRS. Try some of each and see what works best for you. As someone who has not yet sat for the exam, I cannot give any specifics.

 

[RunwayModel]

Isn't it suprising that everyone is quick to doubt my credibility based on my sig yet no one else has answered the OP's question.

BTW - the sig only goes on the first post of the page. That's why you don't see it on subsequent posts on this page.

Also the taint comment hurts and was uncalled for. 🙁

Perhaps it'd benefit the OP if someone would respond to my suggestion for OP or perhaps add to it (or correct me if they think otherwise).

Uh, if someone just checks your prior posts, it's pretty obvious to see your full of it, because your posts are all pre-med getting into med school related. I'm pretty sure the OP asked responses from those who have already taken Step 1 or who are currently in the process of studying and doing practice questions. Definitely not someone who has not even started med school.